Sunday, July 27, 2014

Once a year I desperately need to relax. My wife will tell you that the very first place that comes to my mind is the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian islands. Where do I stay? What do I do? How do I get there?

It will come as no surprise to any of you that I always fly United to the islands. In more recent years I have been flying direct from LAX, SFO, or DEN to LIH (Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii). This service is always done with a Boeing 757-200. I always suggest sitting on the left side of the plane as the arrival will give you a great view of Nawilili Bay, which you can see on the left in the photo up top.

The Kauai Marriott Resort is the only place to stay on the island (sure, there are other hotels and all, but this one is the very best). After a very long drive from the airport (the hotel is only about a 10 minute drive), you are greeted to the Garden Isle (Kauai's nickname) in a truly tropical paradise. The main entry stands a few stories above the main lobby in the middle of a forest of palm trees. The lobby is in the middle of the hotel buildings, and has a beautiful handmade canoe in it. But who really cares about checking in? Let's get to the good stuff.

There are three buildings on the property. The furthest west tower that sits on Kalapaki Beach is made up of Marriott Vacation Club rooms. The North tower provides a great view of the gardens, and houses the two-story Presidential Suite. The east tower is by far my favorite; it primarily has views of the pool. However, the last room on each floor is a two-room suite. These suites provide both a view of the pool and a view of the bay.

The view from the southwest corner of one of the suites. Even on a cloudy day it is beautiful.

The Kauai Marriott has a lot to offer. With food options from Kukui's to Duke's to Portifino's, the pool (one of the largest in Hawaii) with five hot tubs, and the Kalapaki Beach, there's always something to do.

The view of the pool from the Terrace.

The thing that you have to remember is that there is a lot to do on the island. In future posts I will share with you more of the specifics, but if you're going soon, remember to hit Bubba Burgers, and spend some time in Hanalei. Oh, and plane spotters, the golf course at the Kauai Marriott offers some greate plane spotting views.

But, hey, I'm just some guy who likes to look at airplanes, so what do I know?

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

I'm often very excited about posting things about United, but today I'm feeling much more down. United has been working hard to cut costs and return to the black. Their solution is to cut costs by terminating the employment of their co-workers at 12 airports with mostly United Express service. From what I understand, the current employees have jobs until September 30th, 2014.

The airports that will be outsourced:

Detroit, MI

Albuquerque, N.M.

Buffalo, NY

Charleston, S.C.

Charlotte, N.C.

Columbus, OH

Des Moines, IA

El Paso, TX

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Wichita, KS

Pensacola, FL

Salt Lake City, UT

Note: Items that are bolded are cities that I regularly travel to. Italicized cities are destinations I am about to start traveling to.With the termination of these employees, there is a bright side. United will be bringing back about 400 at some of the United hubs. So, the 600+ employees being terminated will have the opportunity to take one of the 400 jobs if they are willing to relocate. What pains me is that I have come to know people in these cities as I have traveled. They are friends of mine. They are the people who take care of me. I will greatly miss them. This is a major blow to United, and the Flyer Friendly brand promise.To all of those who have put in many years being Flyer Friendly, thank you for your service. To those of you in CLT, DSM, and PNS who have helped me personally.... Thank You.But, hey, I'm just a guy who likes to look at airplanes, so what do I know?